Koko has died

[dudog84]

Koko the Gorilla, who learned American Sign Language to some extent and could therefore communicate with humans, has died.

I know these announcements on this board are usually reserved for famous humans, but this wonderful primate has historical importance. I guess this may seem sappy in this day and age, but I think Koko helped some see that all beings deserve respect.

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/21/622160278/koko-the-gorilla-dies-redrew-the-lines-of-animal-human-communication

[moonpie23]

Sad...i remember the bit with robin williams' interaction with Koko....

[DukieInKansas]

I think Koko deserves a thread. I don't always recognize celebrity names when they die but I knew immediately who Koko was. I did check on Koko's age - 46 - as I was curious how long a life Koko had.

Rest in peace, Koko.

[left_hook_lacey]

Shew. I thought this thread was about Koko B. Ware! You can't scare me like that!

[Wander]

I know these announcements on this board are usually reserved for famous humans, but this wonderful primate has historical importance. [/url]

Don't apologize! I can't be the only one who finds a lot of the reactions to human celebrity deaths over-the-top. CNN treated Bourdain's death equal to that of a president. Watching my social media and DBR pretend like the infomercial guy was an important icon in their lives was cringeworthy. Nothing against those two particular guys, of course. Koko is totally deserving. Thanks for sharing.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Don't apologize! I can't be the only one who finds a lot of the reactions to human celebrity deaths over-the-top. CNN treated Bourdain's death equal to that of a president. Watching my social media and DBR pretend like the infomercial guy was an important icon in their lives was cringeworthy. Nothing against those two particular guys, of course. Koko is totally deserving. Thanks for sharing.

Not to go off topic, but the best explanation I heard about why Bourdain was revered is that he tried to make Americans less frightened of the outside world.

RIP Koko - what an amazing life and story she leaves behind.

[dudog84]

And thank you to the kind moderator who fixed my typo so I don't look two :( stupid. My title was "had" not "has", and I didn't notice it until I was late running to a meeting.

[Wander]

Here's a fun thought exercise in honor of Koko: what are the most influential animals in modern history? I mean specific animals, not species. The rules of my game are that

1. Animals who are famous simply because they are the pets of famous humans don't count.
2. Animals who are famous because of memes don't count.
3. You have to be able to point to the specific animal somehow, not "the first mosquito who gave a human X disease" (but it's fine if the animal doesn't have a name).

After that, two subcategories, which may be a bit hard to articulate, but I'll try:

(A) Animals who had influence by virtue of just existing, but didn't really do anything themselves. Cecil the lion is the obvious example here. Other possibilities are examples like the dogs of Richard Nixon and Mitt Romney, who arguably had positive and negative impacts respectively on those two politicians' careers.

(B) Animals who actually did something through their actions or behavior to have influence – like Koko, a triple crown winning horse, or a dog who saved lives in a war setting.

[dudog84]

How about Laika the dog, first animal in orbit?

[YmoBeThere]

RIP Koko

May you find a kitten in need whereever you are.

McGruff the Crime Dog

[bjornolf]

Here's a fun thought exercise in honor of Koko: what are the most influential animals in modern history? I mean specific animals, not species. The rules of my game are that

1. Animals who are famous simply because they are the pets of famous humans don't count.
2. Animals who are famous because of memes don't count.
3. You have to be able to point to the specific animal somehow, not "the first mosquito who gave a human X disease" (but it's fine if the animal doesn't have a name).

After that, two subcategories, which may be a bit hard to articulate, but I'll try:

(A) Animals who had influence by virtue of just existing, but didn't really do anything themselves. Cecil the lion is the obvious example here. Other possibilities are examples like the dogs of Richard Nixon and Mitt Romney, who arguably had positive and negative impacts respectively on those two politicians' careers.

(B) Animals who actually did something through their actions or behavior to have influence – like Koko, a triple crown winning horse, or a dog who saved lives in a war setting.

Sergeant Reckless.

[Devilwin]

I think Koko deserves a thread. I don't always recognize celebrity names when they die but I knew immediately who Koko was. I did check on Koko's age - 46 - as I was curious how long a life Koko had.

Rest in peace, Koko.

Koko was elderly, from a gorilla standpoint. Normally they live 40 to 50 years.

[Devilwin]

Here's a fun thought exercise in honor of Koko: what are the most influential animals in modern history? I mean specific animals, not species. The rules of my game are that

1. Animals who are famous simply because they are the pets of famous humans don't count.
2. Animals who are famous because of memes don't count.
3. You have to be able to point to the specific animal somehow, not "the first mosquito who gave a human X disease" (but it's fine if the animal doesn't have a name).

After that, two subcategories, which may be a bit hard to articulate, but I'll try:

(A) Animals who had influence by virtue of just existing, but didn't really do anything themselves. Cecil the lion is the obvious example here. Other possibilities are examples like the dogs of Richard Nixon and Mitt Romney, who arguably had positive and negative impacts respectively on those two politicians' careers.

(B) Animals who actually did something through their actions or behavior to have influence – like Koko, a triple crown winning horse, or a dog who saved lives in a war setting.

Secretariat
1973 Triple Crown winner that holds the record in all three races.

The man eating tigress of Champawat
Tigress killed 436 people before being killed by Jim Corbett in 1907. The most people confirmed ever killed by a single animal.

Mocha Dick
One of two bull sperm whales that were the inspiration for Melville's "Moby Dick", the other being the whale that sank the American whaler "Essex".
Mocha Dick was an extremely large bull sperm whale, white in color, and was usually encountered off the Chilean coast. He was attacked in 1810, survived, and began a vendetta against whaling ships, destroying over 100 small whaling attack boats launched from the ships. He was finally killed in 1838.